VICTORIA.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 4, Issue 198, 5 July 1860, Page 3

VICTORIA.

Profits of Mining and Agriculture.— The substance of the statistical tables we lately published we may conveniently use as a set-off to the blatant cry of the bellowing calves who would have it believed that there is no such thing as living in the colony at all, or at any rate of doing more than make a bare living in it. And we begin with the miners, estimated at 125,000 souls, who raised gold last year to the value of £10,000,000 sterling, which would give £BO a year per man, exclusive of their earnings in various other ways. But we believe the miners to have been over estimated to the extent of 25,000 souls; and taking them at 100,000 only, this gold to the value of £10,000,000 sterling would give them £IOO a year per man, exclusive of their other earnings, and that, too, for not working more than two-thirds of their time, which, if put in in full, would have brought up their earnings to £3 per week from this source alone. But from mining, we turn to pastoral and agricultural pursuits, our other two great producing interests. Aud if these do not show the like . magnificent results, as regards our export trade, they show far more satisfactory ones, as regards the occupations of this portion of the people —that is, as to how they live, and what they do for a* living. At the close of the year there were about 1100 or 1200 sheep and cattle runs in the colony, and these, at ten men to each run, would afford employment for 11,000 or 12,000 souls. There were also 300,000 acres of land under cultivation, and these, at one man for every ten acres, would afford employment for 30,000 men.. But call it 50,000, or say 60,000 inclusive of those engaged in all kinds of pursuits connected with the rearing and depasturing of stock, and the tilling of the land, and then look at the results. From these two sources we have drawn £2,000,000 apd upwards, in our exports of wool, hides, tallow, and the like ; £2,000,000 more, at the least, in our agricultural and horticultural produce, of different descriptions, for home use; add £1,000,000 in our supply of animal food; exclusive of the addition 'to our stock, and tlie fresh land that has been fenced in, and made ready for crop. And thus, whilst 100,000 to 125,000 people have been raising exportable produce on the gold fields to. the, extent of £10,000.000 sterling, exclusive of their other earnuv's. from. 50,000 to. 60,000 have been ° .

(raising exportable and consumable producer '{otherwise from the land to. th e.-ex ten t~af ££.5,000,000,. sterling, exclusive, to llieir - •; ings.,. ,'' " { w Chinese Swindling.— -“ For several weeks past,?’ says: the Ballarat ; Star, \ “ the gold field journals have teemed with statements as the frauds practised on unsuspecting storekeepers and gold, brokers. From the number of such attempts, and the-wide field over which these fraudulent operations have been carried on,, it is very evident there is some well organised body of expert and’ daring Chinese swindlers at work, and: that this ; body has agents wlio are actively engaged in circulating the spurious gold among the-merchants of the “barbarians.” We are the more inclined toconsider that this Chinese Brummagem gold? owes its origin., to the operations of some largeI central body, from , the fact that the description of the samples, as stated in the -various', accounts, shows that it is of the same-kind. Moreover, we can scarcely .imagine .that eaclu separate gold field can have its own manufacturing establishment, because the parcels of gold which have been offered for sale are too well got up—too like pure gold—to be the * work of ignorant or careless experimenters.Be are, we think, fully justified, therefore,- „ in arriving at the conclusion, that there is some, large well appointed head-quarters—probably , in the metropolis—where the manufactory is cairied on, and of which the Chinese, who have been apprehended, are only the; tools,; whetherr willingly or not we can hardly say.” s Fiji Jsi.ands. —Sir Henry Barkly has received a despatch from the Colonial Office, _ J)owning street, dated., 2Gth, -February, intir mating that commissioner had been sent out ' Iby the previous mail to inquire into and.report on the state of the Fiji islands, so that her Majesty’s Government may be: enabled to decide on the offer of.the sovereignty of these islands to the British Crown. Reward for. Discoveries of : Gold Fields. 7'he. . government have offered. .£30,000 to the discoverers of new gold fields. The Snowy River.— -The following are ; extracts from a letter from,. an, .experienced miner,dated;4th: May,—B r e met a great many along the road returning—most of them had never been as far as this; they told us that there was not a pound of flour for sale on ;the diggings, and that the Commissioner had bought up all the flour on the diggings, which was a ton and a half. We went, to every storeon the diggings and could not get any,—-but,, thank God, we got some bread. We paid 55.. for a large loaf, and yesterday it was six shillings, and to day, I am happy to say, there was a bullock dray came in with a few bags of flour, and there was a great rush to the store. I got 50 lb. at a shilling a pound. sell: anybody more than that quantityjat oncetea, .at 6s ;per lb., sugar is Is. 6tf; we,paid 6d, fCrla tallow candle, and eiglueeupence for a twopenny box of matches, and everything is as dear in proportion except meat, which is sixpence now. “ I will tell you a little about the weather. The day we arrived here we had a few light showers of rain and, sleet. I have not seen any snow since I have been here: The n : ghts are very cold, and the mornings are always frosty, and the water is already iced for us. In the middle of the day it is as warm as it is in j Melbourne at this time of the year, but every. ’one is expecting the sno# every day. Nearly everybody is leaving, but there will be some who will try to winter here, and so shall I, as I have come so far, although the prospects are very discouraging. Three ,of us have been • washing all day,—and now how much do you thiuk we got for our day’s work? We just got three pennyweights. “ I have seen several parties that I know, who have been heie two and three months. Some of them did very well at first, but they are doing no good now. I should say there are about eight hundred people here now, aud I am certain one half of them are not getting enough to keep them.

Wages of Farm = Labourers in the United States, —Some weeks sincee, says the New York Tribune, as quoted iu Hunt's Merchant's Magazine, for December last* we published an inquiry at the request of a correspondent, as to what were the current rates of wages for farm labourers iu different parts of the United States, aud we now give the. results

The questions were ten in numbei, —• - 1. Wages of farm labourer per year. 2. Wages per month for eight mouths in the year. 3. Wages in sowing and planting time, per month.

4. /Fages in sowing and planting time, per day. 5. /Fages iu haying and harvest time, per month. 6. Wages in haying and harvest time, per day. 7. Wages in time of fall work, per month. 8. Wages in time of fall work, per day. 9. Wages of winter work, per month. 10. Wages of winter work,; day. ° The results are’ given in a'tabular form, with the names of the persons vouching fur the rates attached, but with too much copiousness and minuteness of detail to make them suitable for. these columns, and we therefore merely take out'the highest'“‘and. lowest rates, iu answer to the foregoing ten questions, without further.reference to the state, the county,, or the place in which these rates ruled, than that of simply naming them. ; 1. The highest rate of wages for a farm, labourer per year was 200 dollars (about £4l) in Massachusetts East> and.-the lowest 108 dollars (£22 10s) in Centre Pennsylvania. 2, The highest rate of wages per month,.

for eight months in the year, was 18j dollars I (,£3 17s) in Massachusetts East, and the lowest 10 dollars (41s 8d) in Centre Pennsylvania. 3. The highest rate of wages in sowing and planting time per month was 21 dollars (£4 7s 6d) in Massachusetts East, and the lowest 10 dollars in Centre Pennsylvania. 4, The highest rate of wages in sowing and planting time per day. was 1 dollar (4s 2d) in Massachusetts-East, and the lowest—Athens excepted, in Tennessee, where slave labour is employed—so cents (2s Id) in Centre Penn-; sylvania. .... . 5.. The highest rate of wages in haying and harvest time per month was 30 to 45 dollars (£6 ,5s to £9 7 6d) in Massachusetts East, and the lowest 16 dollars (£3 Gs 8d) in Centre Pennsylvania. G. Phe highest rate of wages.in having and harvest time per day was , 1 dollar 50 cents (6s 3d), in Caledonia, Vermont, and the lowest 75 cents (3s Id) in Branchville, New Jersey. 7. The highest rate of wages in time of fall work per month was 18 dollars (£3 15s) in Massachusetts East, and the lowest 8 dollars (33s 4d) in Centre Pennsylvania. . 8. The highest rate of wages in time of fall work per day was 1 dollar (4s 2d) in Massachusetts East, and the lowest 50 cents (2s Id) in Centre Pennsylvania. 9. The highest rate of wages for winter work per month was 13 dollars (54s 2d) in Massachusetts East, 11 to 14 dollars (45s lOd to 58s 4d) in Cazenovia, New York, and 12 to 15 dollars (50s to 6256 d) in Logan, Illinois, and the lowest 6 dollars (255) in Centre Pennsylvania. , • 10. The highest rate of wages for winter work per day was 83 cents (3s, 5d.) in Massachusetts East, and the lowest 50 cents(2s Id), that being the ruling rate in the majority of the States.

Prince Alfred.— The United Service Oazette says that Prince Alfred is being brought lip in the service. precisely the same as if'he were the son of a private gentleman He messes with .the midshipmen, keeps his regular watch, dines occasionally in the wardroom, and takes his turn to dine with the captain. He is treated by h's messmates as, in all respects, one of themselves—is called to order by the caterer, and runs the same risk of being made the subject of a practical joke as any other young gentleman ; himself, however, being generally pretty forward in the business of playful mischief. Upon one question, that of smoking, the young prince is sternly ‘ denied the privilege indulged in byother officers. That growing weakness of the age, most mischievous in its consequences, particularly when carried to excess, is prohibited as far as Prince Alfred is concerned, and upon one. occasion, we believe, his Royal Highness had his leave stopped for a fortnight, for being detected in the act of ‘ blowing a cloud.”*